Thursday, April 9, 2009

Saturday April 4

The 2nd to last Saturday of the 2008-09 NHL season was an active one as teams continue to battle for and secure playoff spots. Former Islanders helped out in 6 of the 11 tilts of the night. Here is a recap of the FI efforts:

Ottawa defenseman Chris Campoli had the primary assist on his team's 2nd goal as the Senators edged the visiting Philadelphia Flyers 4-3 in SO. Campy now has assists in 3 straight games meaning he has 10 goals and 18 assists for 28 points on 71 games. Since joining the Sens via trade Campoli has 4 goals and 7 assists for 11 points on 20 games.

Buffalo center Tim Connolly had the secondary assist on the too-little-too-late goal as the Sabres were felled by the visiting New Jersey Devils 3-2 putting a serious dent in their playoff hopes. TimCo now has 17 goals and 26 assists for 43 points on 43 games, an impressive point-per-game pace for the oft-injured centerman. With less than a handful of games remaining in the season Connolly is only 3 assists from 200 on his career.

Montreal d-man Roman Hamrlik had 2 assists, including 1 powerplay, as the Canadiens thumped the host Toronto Maple Leafs 6-2. Hamr snapped a 6 game point-less streak and now has 5 goals and 25 assists for 30 points on 76 games. For the 8th time Hamrlik has managed 25 or more helpers and for the 9th time he has reached the 30+ point mark. Assisting on the opening goal, also a powerplay score, was d-man Mathieu Schneider. He has a point-per-game over the last 6 outings (1 goal, 5 assists) and now has 8 goals and 23 assists for 31 points on 65 games. In literally half the games (21) with the Habs as compared to Atlanta (44) Schneids has past his offensive support from the first half of the season. With the Canadiens Schneider has 16 points (4 goals, 12 assists) while with the Thrashers he had 15 points (4 goals, 11 assists). Receiving an assist on the first Leafs' goal was winger Jason Blake. He now has 59 points (25 goals, 34 assists) on 73 games.

Pittsburgh winger Ruslan Fedotenko assisted on both his team's goals as the Penguins fell to the host Carolina Hurricanes 3-2 in OT in a battle of 2 playoff contenders. Fedo now has 6 points (2 goals, 4 assists) over the last 3 games. He has 13 goals and 20 assists for 33 points on 60 games. For the 4th time in his career Fedotenko has reached 20 or more assists.

Columbus winger Raffi Torres had an assist on the game tying goal as the host Nashville Predators downed the Blue Jackets 5-4 in SO. Torres has a goal and an assist over the last 2 games. Torres now has 12 goals and 6 assists for 18 points on 46 games.

Edmonton d-man Denis Grebeshkov had an even strength goal as the Oilers downed the visiting Vancouver Canucks 5-3. Greb now has 7 goals and 28 assists for his first 35 point season. The goal was a big one for the young defenseman as it was the 10th of his career. Taking the loss in net for the 'Nucks was goaltender Roberto Luongo. He stopped 20 of only 24 shots in 60 minutes of ice time. Luongo is now 29-12-7 on the season and is a subpar 0-1-1 over the last 2 starts.